The Legal Information Institute (LII) publishes legal information online at no charge and creates material to help the public understand it. Its web collections include the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. The site enriches government-published legal data by identifying, extracting, annotating, and indexing its features. Explanatory resources include Wex, Supreme Court Bulletin previews, and case summaries in the Gender Justice Collection. Users can search case law and statutes and regulations, read commentary, and use citation tools. Read It Online takes a formal case citation and provides links to free and paid judicial-opinion resources. LII also offers Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, a free Bluebook alternative maintained by co-founder Professor Peter Martin. State regulations from all 50 states and Washington, DC are available with enhanced features. Its coverage includes U.S. federal law, all 50 states, and selected world law. LII was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Ithaca, New York. It does not provide legal advice or personalized research help.
Who it is for
LII suits members of the public looking for legal texts, case law, regulations, citation tools, or explanatory legal material. It is not a source of legal advice or personalized research assistance.
What is good
- Public legal collections are available free of charge.
- Covers federal law and all 50 states.
- Includes case law, regulations, commentary, and citation tools.
- Read It Online resolves formal case citations.
- Offers free Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.
What to know first
- Does not provide legal advice or interpretations.
- Does not offer personalized research or school-project help.
- Coverage includes only selected world law.
Verdict
LII brings legal texts, research tools, and explanatory materials together in a free web resource. It can help readers find and understand legal information, but not provide advice or personalized research help.
Get started with Legal Information Institute
- Visit https://www.law.cornell.edu/.
- Browse the legal collections or search case law and statutes and regulations.
- Use Read It Online by entering a formal case citation.
- Consult Introduction to Basic Legal Citation or LII's explanatory materials.
What the free plan stops at
LII's free access plan is free. The service does not provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized help with legal research or school projects.
Questions about Legal Information Institute
Is the Legal Information Institute free?
Yes. Its Free access plan is free, and legal information and collections are available to the public free of charge.
What legal materials does LII cover?
Its collections include the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. Listed jurisdiction coverage includes U.S. federal law, all 50 states, and selected world law.
What citation tools does LII offer?
Read It Online accepts a formal case citation and links to free and paid resources for judicial opinions. LII also provides Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, a free alternative to the Bluebook.
Can LII provide legal advice?
No. LII says it cannot provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized legal research or school project help.
Which platform is available?
LII is available on the web.
Who maintains Introduction to Basic Legal Citation?
LII co-founder Professor Peter Martin maintains the guide.
Legal Information Institute plans and pricing
All plansCompared on legal research software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Case law search
- Yes
- Statute & regulation search
- Yes
- Legal commentary
- Yes
- Citation tools
- Yes
- Jurisdiction coverage
- U.S. federal law; all 50 U.S. states; selected world law
- Research alerts
- Yes
